To The Grave
by vampirefan1989
Summary: Vampires are treated as outcasts, a race not accepted by human-kind and victim to attacks. But when Sookie meets a thousand-year-old vampire, Eric, her eyes are opened up completely, and he finds his opening up about her kind as well. AU.


Things went sour when vampires came out of the coffin nearly five years ago.

Ever since they publicly came out live on television, the world has changed. Instead of us accepting them with open arms- which the vampires were expecting of us- it backfired. People of my race started protesting and causing riots, considering the streets no longer safe after daylight. If a vampire waltzed into a bar, he would become victim to racial slurs and threats within a second of entering. People would probably even chain him up with some silver, some would even stake him or drain him to death.

Everything is so much more hate-filled now, than ever. Vampires have been segregated from our race- they are excluded from most things, like the public voting system, entering public places. The streets and now everywhere you go are patrolled by a soldier of the Anti-Vampire Government and if a vampire dared to come close enough, they would be killed on sight, no hesitation.

That's why we don't see many vampires around or in Bon Temps, Louisiana. They are smart enough to know it isn't worth the risk, but there are a rare rebellious few who don't give a rat's ass. In all those four years, I've only had the good luck of coming across a vampire twice. I was the only one who knew they were a vampire at the time, because I couldn't read their thoughts and I could automatically tell they were different from the rest. Most of the folks here were too dumb or ignorant enough not to tell the difference, but I could. And, contrary to everybody else, I accepted them- something we weren't allowed to do. If anyone found out we were willingly consorting with vampires, we would get arrested or could face getting a death sentence ourself. But no one knew anything about me accepting them, because I kept it to myself.

And tonight was no different.

When he walked into the bar, I knew the instance I laid eyes on him that he was one of them. Everyone else gave him a fleeting glance, they couldn't seem to tell the difference, but I could. It was mostly his silence that gave him away. Vampires looked mostly like us in physical appearance anyway, but what gave them away, was their fangs, if not hidden. I've heard their fangs extended when they felt threatened or hungry, blood-deprived, or sexually aroused. It happened without their will half of the time. But most had learned by now that if they wanted to fit in with the crowd and get by unnoticed, keeping their fangs hidden was a must. So, when he came in, he was playing that part well.

This vampire was about six-foot-four, blonde, and one majorly attractive one to boot.

Just like with most vampires in a dangerous environment, he kept to himself and made certain he didn't draw attention to himself in any capacity, in finding an empty booth in a secluded area without many people around. He was rugged up in tight dark jeans that had a few holes in the knees, a long leather trench coat, and biker boots. And, as with most vampires dealing with the effects of a hostile society from our kind, he kept his ears and eyes open.

I made a quick beeline over towards him, because I didn't want anyone else figuring out who or what he was. I believed it was safer that I was the only one who knew. He could trust me best. When I reached nearer to where he was sitting, rigidly and on-guard, I was shocked by how handsome he looked up close. He was about the most handsome man I ever had the pleasure of seeing- real nice blue eyes, hair perfectly sleek and combed back behind his ear lobes.

Most of us were fairly tanned here in Louisiana, and he was extra pale, but it was too distracting or made him look too noticeably different. Despite how safe I felt he was with me knowing his secret, it didn't stop the way his forehead crumpled in anxiety and the way he regarded me with quiet mistrust.

"Hey there," I said to him nervously, reaching for my notepad and pen out of the pocket of my apron. "Welcome to Merlotte's. What can I get you this evening?"

"Nothing." His voice went so low it was almost as if he was directing it to the table, and not at me. "I want nothing. Please, leave me alone. I only came here for some peace." His voice was very frigid and I could tell he was concerned about me dobbing on him. I couldn't blame him for that, really. But that wasn't the type of person that I was.

"It's okay," I assured him, with a little nervous laugh. "Your secret is safe with me. You don't need to worry."

His fair eyebrows rose at that and I noticed the subtle movement of his jaw as it tightened. "Excuse me?"

"I know what you are, you know."

"Do you?" He didn't seem too happy by me pointing that out to him.

"Yep, I do." I pushed a stray tendril of my hair back behind my earlobe, trying to keep my reassuring smile in place for him. It wasn't easy; Not with the expression that was gracing his face for me. There was something menacing there, deep down, and his eyes bore into mine unwaveringly. It was as if he was almost silently threatening me into keeping his secret exactly just that; a secret. "As I said, your secrets safe with me. So, what can I get you while you're here? Anything at all?"

"Yeah, you know, there _is _something you could get me," he muttered, his voice going so low it came out as an irritated growl. "It's called privacy. So how about that? How about me getting a little fucking privacy?"

I got his point clear and well, but I brushed it off with a nod of my head. "Touché. I get your point, I do. But there's really no need to be so rude. There is no need to cuss at me."

"Clearly, there is. Do I need to spell it out for you? I would like some privacy, and I would like for you to leave me alone."

His eyes never left my face and he was staring at me closely, enjoying and finding some amusement in insulting me, I could tell. It just made me pity him and the situation his kind was going through even more. "Listen, I know you won't believe me, and really, you don't have any good reason to believe what I'm telling you, but I'm... I'm not like all the rest," I told him quietly, working for some honesty. "To be honest, I hate the way this world is. I think it's unfair how everybody treats you-all, and I'm not like that. All I'm trying to say to you, is that... whenever you need somewhere to go, somewhere safe without anybody knowing or finding out what you are, you can feel free to come here. I won't be telling anybody nothing."

"I don't need your help," he said, sounding disgusted at the very idea. "And, above all that, I sure as hell don't need your pity. Save it for someone else who cares to hear it."

"I wasn't giving you my pity, like I think you're some charity case," I pointed out under my breath. This one, was a challenging one. "I'm just trying to say that you're perfectly safe here and despite me knowing what you are, it won't change anything."

"How do you know what I am?" He shot at me suddenly, something I wasn't expecting. "Everybody else here, they seem not to know, but... you? How do you know?"

"I have my ways," I told him simply. "And just like you, I have secrets of my own that I don't plan on telling anybody sometime soon."

"What makes you so different compared to all the other humans around here?" His voice went lower, deeper, as he stared at me, concentrating hard on figuring me out. I wasn't expecting that at all. I didn't even know how to answer that.

I chose to deliberately ignore him. "If you're not wanting anything but your privacy, I'll leave you in peace now. Sorry for the intrusion; It wasn't my intention."

In a move that was dangerous- for him- his lips slightly parted as his fangs retracted. I had never seen a vampires fangs before, but they were every bit as wonderful as I had imagined. They were sharp, pearly white and long, glistening near his two front teeth. It took everything I had not to gasp out loud in wonder over the sight of them. It was clear fascination wasn't the reaction he wanted to get out of me, because his eyes widened and he visibly irritated by my lack of normal reaction.

"Aren't you scared?" He whispered to me throatily through them.

I couldn't help it; I grinned down at him proudly. "Nope, not one bit. Sorry to disappoint."

"Why not?"

"I don't know." I shrugged, feeling my smile widen painfully. "I guess I'm just not like all the rest. You don't scare me one bit, despite what you are."

"Well, you should be frightened of me." His voice was husky with disapproval. "Any sane person would be."

I felt him open that wound again. "So I'm not sane then?" I asked him incredulously. "I'm not sane because I don't think you're scary?"

"Obviously you're not. I could kill you within seconds, without anyone in this room even so much as batting an eyelid to it."

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm _still_ not scared. Now, if you don't mind, I got work to do. Excuse me." I left him there, and I could feel his eyes on me everywhere I went, mistrusting of me and wary. But what he didn't know was that I was good at keeping secrets. I would take his secret to the grave, whoever he was.

**If this is worth making a full-length story, please let me know if your interested**


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